Moscow car bomb kills 1 person, investigators say, with victim yet to be identified

LONDON -- One person was killed by a car bomb in Moscow's eastern suburbs early on Tuesday, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced in a statement, with an investigation now underway to ascertain the details of the incident.

The incident occurred at around 5:30 a.m. local time in the city of Balashikha to the east of the Russian capital, according to officials. The Investigative Committee said that an "explosive device was detonated while a BMW X3 car was driving near a residential apartment building."

"As a result, the car driver received multiple injuries, from which he died at the scene of the incident," the committee said in a statement posted to Telegram. A criminal case has been opened, the statement said, and the driver is yet to be identified.

"Investigators and forensic experts, together with operational services, are conducting an inspection of the scene of the incident. A series of necessary forensic examinations, including medical and explosives, will be scheduled in the near future," the committee said.

The committee did not suggest any possible motive for the bombing, nor did it suggest any suspects.

Recent years have seen several high-profile bomb and other attacks in Moscow linked to Russia's ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

In December 2025, for example, Russian officer Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed when an explosive device detonated under a car in southern Moscow. Investigators blamed the Ukrainian intelligence services for the killing.

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One year before, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and his assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, were killed when a bomb attached to an electric scooter detonated outside an apartment building in southeastern Moscow. The Security Service of Ukraine later claimed responsibility for the assassination.

ABC News' Joe Simonetti contributed to this report